An account of the wildlife I come across and hopefully pictures to bring the account closer

Monday, 19 September 2011

Monday 19th. September 2011

Firstly a quick catch up from a short visit yesterday that I didn't have time to post .

Larch Bolete / Suillus grevillei .

Calocera viscosa , growing on a conifer stump .

Green Wood-cup / Chlorosplenium aeruginascens .

The pink fruits of the Spindle / Euonymus europaeus have split open revealing the orange seeds .

Not many insects about , but the Common Wasps are still shaving wood to take to the nest .
Today's visit was to Bough Beech reservoir , as I had to go close by . The water level is low now , meaning that any birds present were seen at a distance , making photography difficult . The few bits of interest found included ,

A few Meadow Pipits , feeding along the causeway .

No sign of the hoped for Osprey , but several Common Buzzards , all at distance , were seen , along with a single Sparrowhawk and Kestrel .

Part of a 50+ Lapwing flock that wheeled around several times , before choosing a sheltered bay half way down the main reservoir to land .

A Common Snipe that was awakened from it's sleep by a gang of Teal .

Two of just three Green Sandpipers seen today .

A Little Egret and a juvenile Grey Heron seemed to be getting on well together ,

until the Grey Heron got too close , and the Little Egret took evasive action , flying back over the causeway to the main reservoir . A Water Rail was seen near the Visitor Centre , but by the time I got there , it was back in the reedbed .
This is the third time I have tried to publish this post , having lost everything on the two previous occasions at this point , and having to start over again . Third time lucky ? Here goes .